Amazon isn’t the only company seeking to become the operating system for everyday life. Apple and Google also offer smart speakers and are partnering with appliance manufacturers. Apple has opened up its HomeKit requirements to make it easier for manufacturers and developers to incorporate its digital assistant, Siri. Google has spent the past year aggressively pushing its connected home assistant.

What this means is that sometime in the next decade, all the start-ups and hardware manufacturers and the rest of the A.I. ecosystem will converge around just a few systems. All of us will have to accept a new order and pledge our allegiance to one of the few companies that now act as the operating systems for everyday life.

Once your data, gadgets, appliances, cars and services are entangled, you’ll be locked in to Amazon, Google or Apple.